Thomas William Conley, 71, retired clinical social worker, died Monday, December 14, 2020 from complications resulting from his lifelong illness of osteogenesis imperfecta. He was the only son of the late William Thomas Conley and Mary Louise Ferguson Conley.

He was born in Portsmouth, Ohio November 5, 1949. He graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1968. He attended Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, graduating in 1974 with a Bachelor's degree with a major in History and minors in Philosophy and Political Science. He worked in Portsmouth for the State of Ohio's Employment Services and then moved to Columbus, Ohio, where he attended graduate school at Ohio State University, graduating in 1989 with a Masters in Social Work. He worked in Columbus for several years as a clinical social worker. Throughout his life, he remained deeply committed to helping people with mental illness.

Tom thoroughly enjoyed living in Columbus, a city he came to love through his years as a graduate student at Ohio State University and then as a social worker. His cousins Carolyn Conley and Dena Conway also lived in Columbus so they often explored Columbus together. German Village in Columbus was one of their particular favorites. Tom volunteered for the Ohio Democratic Party while living in Columbus.  As a Unitarian Universalist, he was also active in his faith community there.

Following the death of his father, William Thomas Conley, he returned to Portsmouth to help care for his widowed mother, Mary Louise Conley. As his illness progressed, Tom was unable to walk but kept active with extensive reading in history, political science and philosophy. In addition to reading, Tom enjoyed watching classic films on Turner Classic Movies. His favorite film was Jean Renoir's "The Rules of the Game".

After the death of his mother, Tom's illness progressed so he was grateful for the help of his home health caregiver, Tom Wilburn, and his cousins Naomi Ferguson and Judy Smith.

Eventually, he moved to Concord Rehabilitation Center in Wheelersburg, where the nurses and staff took excellent care of him for all the years he lived there. He enjoyed his conversations with the staff, who provided compassionate care to the end. Despite all the surgeries and years of pain Tom suffered from his illness, he often told his sister that "life is sweet".

Tom is survived by his sister Joy Conley-Cooke and his brother-in-law Todd Cooke of Silver Spring, Maryland; and his nieces, Rachel Cooke of Silver Spring and Sarah Cooke of Washington, DC. In addition, he is survived by many beloved cousins.

Due to the pandemic, a public memorial service will be temporarily postponed. There will be a private family ceremony at the gravesite at Sunset Memorial Gardens. Arrangements are under the direction of the D.W. Swick Funeral Home of Wheelersburg.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to one of the following: the National Alliance for Mental Illness-Southern Ohio, 181 North Bridge Street, Chillicothe, Ohio 45601, Phone: 740-851-4242; or The Human Rights Campaign, 1640 Rhode Island Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20036-3278, Phone: 202-628-4160; or the Portsmouth Public Library, 1220 Gallia Street, Portsmouth, Ohio 45662, Phone: 740-354-5688.